About the Mission

A Belgian public-sector organisation is launching an enterprise architecture assignment to define a reusable target architecture for the management of regulatory approvals, accreditations and registrations. The scope starts with environmental permit authorisations and integrates a second business domain as a pilot use case, in order to validate the genericity and reusability of the proposed solution.

The target architecture must enable:

  • Harmonised, sustainable and efficient management of approvals and registrations, replacing legacy tools that have become obsolete and unmaintainable (e.g. Delphi-based applications).
  • A significant reduction of technical debt through modern, scalable and interoperable technologies.
  • Automation of business processes: request handling, physical and digital correspondence, validation tracking, reporting and KPIs.
  • An online interface allowing external stakeholders (citizens, professionals, institutions) to submit, follow up and amend their requests autonomously.
  • Full takeover of the existing situation, including ongoing and closed files, with a smooth data migration from current systems.
  • Progressive onboarding of additional business domains while ensuring compatibility with each of them.

The assignment follows a structured enterprise architecture approach based on the TOGAF framework and the organisation’s own architecture principles. It aims to deliver a complete modelling of the AS-IS and TO-BE situations (data, processes, applications, flows, functional components), a TO-BE architecture validated by stakeholders and aligned with transversal programmes (document management, data management, IAM, MS365, ESB), and a reference baseline for cost and effort estimates ahead of implementation.

Regulatory and compliance context

The solution must comply with GDPR, NIS2, the Brussels Digital Ordinance (once-only collection, reuse, accessibility), the Interoperable Europe Act, the AI Act where AI is used, national cybersecurity recommendations, and BelGIF / EIF interoperability and open data publication standards.

Target solution requirements

  • Robustness: modular, decoupled architecture built on reusable functional (ABB) and technical (SBB) building blocks.
  • Sustainability: modern, maintainable and documented technologies with clear governance.
  • Scalability: ability to absorb growth in authorisation types, file volumes, data and internal/external users.
  • Interoperability: compliance with the legal, semantic, organisational and technical dimensions of the EIF, using APIs, open formats and regional standards.
  • Security & Privacy by Design: code audits, reliable hosting, test data anonymisation, data minimisation, consent management and access traceability.
  • Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): fine-grained, secure role management aligned with the existing IAM landscape, as granted approvals confer rights in other systems.

Activities covered

  • Target Business Architecture: business vision, identification of target processes, value chain modelling, validation of business needs.
  • Solution Architecture: AS-IS and TO-BE architecture, COTS evaluation, definition of ABB/SBB, architecture scenarios.
  • Target Data Architecture: conceptual data model, data flows, interoperability, data security.

Expected deliverables

An architecture dossier following the client’s template, including: a description of the existing architecture; a description of the target architecture with concrete, actionable and realistic solutions, a 5-year TCO estimate and a SWOT analysis of the proposed solution(s); a gap analysis with possible transition architectures; an impact and risk analysis; and a compliance assessment grid against the organisation’s 18 architecture principles.

Both the AS-IS and TO-BE descriptions cover all architecture layers:  business (high-level process models linked to value chains, without BPMN), application (applications, flows, data, modular and interoperable ABB/SBB), data (common conceptual UML data model for approvals and registrations), technical, and security (access management and security design). All enterprise architecture models are produced in ArchiMate using the client’s modelling tool.

Ways of working

Close collaboration is expected with the enterprise architect and the other architects of the organisation: peer validation of intermediate deliverables, reuse of existing architecture models and analyses, active participation in the architects’ community, and a well-argued presentation of the proposed solution(s) to the architecture board.

Required Skills

Enterprise Architecture, TOGAF, ArchiMate, Solution Architecture, Business Architecture, Data Architecture, Conceptual Data Modelling (UML), Interoperability (EIF / BelGIF), API Design, ESB / Integration Architecture, IAM & RBAC, Security by Design, Privacy by Design, GDPR, NIS2, Legacy Migration, COTS Evaluation, TCO Analysis, Public Sector IT

Practical Information

  • Company: Confidential
  • Location: Brussels Hybrid
  • Start Date: 1 October 2026
  • End Date: 30 March 2027
  • Duration: 70 days, 3 days per week
  • Contract Type: Freelance / Mission
  • Application Deadline: 24 August 2026
  • Languages: French and/or Dutch + English